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elemental

 [el-uh-men-tl]   Origin

el·e·men·tal

   [el-uh-men-tl]
adjective
1.
of the nature of an ultimate constituent; simple; uncompounded.
2.
pertaining to rudiments or first principles.
3.
starkly simple, primitive, or basic: a spare, elemental prose style; hate, lust, and other elemental emotions.
4.
pertaining to the agencies, forces, or phenomena of physical nature: elemental gods.
5.
comparable to the great forces of nature, as in power or magnitude: elemental grandeur.
EXPAND
6.
of, pertaining to, or of the nature of the four elements, earth, water, air, and fire, or of any one of them.
7.
pertaining to chemical elements.
COLLAPSE
Origin:
1485–95; < Medieval Latin elementālis. See element, -al1

Related forms
el·e·men·tal·ly, adverb
non·el·e·men·tal, adjective
non·el·e·men·tal·ly, adverb
post·el·e·men·tal, adjective
pre·el·e·men·tal, adjective
EXPAND
sub·el·e·men·tal, adjective
sub·el·e·men·tal·ly, adverb
trans·el·e·men·tal, adjective
un·el·e·men·tal, adjective
un·el·e·men·tal·ly, adverb
COLLAPSE

Can be confused: elemental, elementary.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Elemental is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
elemental (ˌɛlɪˈmɛntəl)
 
—adj
1.  fundamental; basic; primal: the elemental needs of man
2.  motivated by or symbolic of primitive and powerful natural forces or passions: elemental rites of worship
3.  of or relating to earth, air, water, and fire considered as elements
4.  of or relating to atmospheric forces, esp wind, rain, and cold
5.  of, relating to, or denoting a chemical element
 
—n
6.  rare a spirit or force that is said to appear in physical form
 
ele'mentally
 
—adv
 
ele'mentalism
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

elemental
1510s, pertaining to the four elements, from M.L. elementalis, from L. elementum (see element). Meaning simple, uncomplicated is from 1550s; that of relating to first principles is from 1570s. The noun in the occult sense is from 1877.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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